Curtis Jones transfer takes fresh twist as Inter Milan prepare increased bid

Could Curtis Jones be about to leave Liverpool? Born and raised in Toxteth, a stone's throw away from Anfield, he has been with the club for over a decade and a half, arriving as a nine year old, fulfilling his childhood dream by playing for the Reds. However, with just one year remaining on his contract, with no indication he is going to sign a new one, Jones is set to move on.

As reported by James Horncastle of the Athletic, Inter Milan "have renewed their pursuit" of the Liverpool midfielder. Back on 22 June, the Nerazzurri had a €25 million bid rejected for Jones. Horncastle claims that the Serie A champions are willing to go as high as €35 million to land his signature, with Liverpool holding out for €40 million. This suggests a deal is likely to get done.

Elsewhere, Gazzetta dello Sport reported on Thursday that Inter manager Cristian Chivu has made Jones his "preferred choice over other vaguely attainable players with similar profiles". Featuring 32 year old Hakan Çalhanoğlu and 37 year old Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Inter's midfield trio is famously very old, so the 25 year old would surely arrive as a first-choice player from day one. Thus, despite interest from Nottingham Forest, San Siro does appear to be the Scouser's most-likely destination.

Why Liverpool are willing to let Curtis Jones leave

First and foremost, as already mentioned, Jones has less than 12 months remaining on his Liverpool contract, making the need to sell him this summer substantially greater. Otherwise, assuming he does not sign a new deal, his value would plummet in January, before being able to walk away for nothing this time next year. When Trent Alexander-Arnold did just that, it did not go down well.

Meanwhile, during Wednesday night's 1-0 pre-season friendly victory over Wrexham at Yankee Stadium, after full time, Jones was caught in a heated discussion with Dominik Szoboszlai. It is alleged that this was a disagreement over the fact that, when the Hungarian was withdrawn late on, he handed the captain's armband to Kostas Tsimikas, rather than Jones. This is making a mountain out of a molehill really, but perhaps the uncertainty over the England international's future is what sparked this, who is to say.

Lastly, since debuting for the club at senior level against Wolves in the FA Cup in January 2019, Jones has never really established himself as a first-choice player at any point. Of his 34 appearances in the Premier League last season, 16 came as a substitute, while he also started five times out of position at right-back. This status as a rotation option is pretty indicative of his entire time at the club.

Curtis Jones season-by-season Liverpool statistics

Note: All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt.

Jones has never started more than 50% of Liverpool matches in any Premier League season, including in the lineup 19 times as Arne Slot's team won the title, before doing so only one fewer time last season. The most-recent campaign was his highest in terms of total minutes across all competitions, accumulating 2,850, albeit this was still only 55.56% of all minutes the Reds played.

Thus, put succinctly, the 25 year old has never made himself indispensable. Ryan Gravenberch, Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister are all ahead of him in the deeper midfield pecking order, while Andoni Iraola confirmed during a press conference in Chicago on Thursday that he plans to use Florian Wirtz as a number ten.

Thus, given his age, it is now time for Jones to go and be a pivotal player somewhere. A move to the Serie A champions cannot be considered a step down while, given his contractual situation, Liverpool will be pleased to get a decent fee. In short, this move appears to suit all parties involved.

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